2006 was the year when UGC and virals really came to the fore, created by a few and watched by many. This has since been absorbed into our routine understanding of the internet although the buzzword ‘viral’ does still continue to crop up. Definitely read ‘All Virals are Black Swans‘ by Jerome Courtial on Knitware for a quick reality check and then wade in on ‘Are Marketers hiding behind UGC?‘ asked out aloud by Martyn Perks on Netimperative.

2007 was the year of Social Networking, and social networking as we know it has not at all passed and probably won’t, but it will become more integrated into the finer parts of our day to day communications and interactions in the contexts of our personal lives, our businesses and our passions (politics, sports, gaming, fashion ..).

There will still be strong milage in social networks, as mobile platforms open up a new dimension with peer comms/interactions more available to us on the go, exposing us to valued and trusted opinion from friends or personalities of authority that will influence our decisions to buy, to participate in events, to socialise and influence how we benefit from these connections.

There is also strong milage in the 3D aspects of social networking, which has dipped below public media awareness for the time being (ref: Second Life et al), but will definitely re-emerge when technology catches up, delivering social networks in 3D through the web as a delivery network, established as a game/platform, but experienced with devices such as digital mirrors in our homes/bedrooms, goggles and in the coming years holographics. Holographics will also greatly expand the potential use of miniature mobile devices that will project displays onto surfaces and into 3D space. All of this continues to hold strong ties to social networking.

Specific mentions of MySpace, Facebook and their competition, most of these platforms are maturing into strong media partners that harvest eye-balls and personal data for the benefit of brands and businesses selling product. This is becoming the business model, but should never be confused with the reasons why people use the networks in the first place. They should tread with care and remember where they come from, or else they will most definitely be surpassed by new networks. It is easy to see the necessary lure of business success that is offered by entertainment brands, music labels and broadcasters who themselves are required to find new ways to get their product to paying consumers.

2007 was also the year of Social Network Apps, widgets and hacks. In many ways their visual identities have become clichéd with aqua-esk bubbling interfaces that call out for the user’s attention consistently, bearing a likeness to becoming unwanted and passé. App-spam is in part to blame (ref: Facebook) with close resemblance to email spam and pop-up alerts that are more appropriate to the nether realms of the darker internet. These apps essentially provide novel interfaces that act to display dynamic information feeds that are personal and of interest to a single user. Social network apps go farther to provide awareness of peers, their activities and interests and move to add depth to the experience of online social networking.

Here today
2008 is definitely a year of the mobile platform. We’re seeing the emergence of smartphones with touch screens beginning to surpass other traditional handheld phones and take the headlines. We keep these devices with us almost 24/7 along with our keys and money, and technology has now reached a point in delivering communications services, entertainment, business productivity and the internet through these miniature consoles and tailored all the time to us as a single user.

Apple has been taking most of the headlines, while the Google Android platform shows strong promise. Every other vendor is getting into this as well. An extremely significant change is in the way we use the devices, no longer just through a limited vendor locked interface, but rather more akin to the free-agent nature of our wireless, deskless personal computers, open to running any software we choose, fulfilling our needs on an almost limitless scale of applicability. Essential, its the emergence of the mobile device as an open platform for applications that will set it free. This is it’s year. Be sure to read what David Armano, VP of Experience Design at Critical Mass has to say on the subject.

Viral
There are clear times for using viral type content – mainly for raising awareness on a grand scale.
Virals are great because the brand or marketing crew don’t have the labour intensive job of pushing the content around to the many places where users will see it (that on the other hand is what happens with say, traditional marketing that is placed outdoor, in magazines, on radio stations etc). True virals that spread all on their own, need only initial seeding, and the viewers do the rest. Whats even better is that these virals (which may be video clips, email chains, slogans etc) cross the boundaries and spread across a diverse landscape of viewing destinations and when they inspire imitation – media types. A viral that starts out on a forum, or in an email or on TV will probably see its way to YouTube or BoreMe, may find its way to video phones and may also be talked about (extended coverage) in print newspaper and on the radio.

But we know that already.

Targeted
There are times where you know where your core audience is, and what you need to say to them, and how to say it. So don’t try and give yourself a hard time and seed something virally. Thats a joke.

Targeted marketing is perfect for quick executions, communicating distinct messages and inspiring a response from the crowd.

And thats not to say that the two types of communication can be used together, which is what we will be doing with Yahoo! Music with an initial viral video before launch, that whets the appetite, sparks an interest and begins to grow awareness of the campaign, followed by another 80% of marketing that will target many distinct groups that make up the Yahoo! Music audience and only includes one more viral element aimed specifically at the Facebook community.

Ben raised a few interesting discussion points -
One of the things that makes a viral so appealing is that it is not seemingly coming from the brand, but from a friend or community right? So, in targeted messaging do you not lose the credibilty that a viral may hold in this instance? Do you envisage using ‘viral targeting’ so that people receive something that is seemingly not from Yahoo!

Yes I know exactly what you mean. But lets be clear that viral and targeted are firstly two different a distinct methods of spreading a message. Viral also refers (as a more umbrella understanding of the word) to the content and tone.

With that said – targeted marketing may also take a form that is more personal (set by tone) and personal (set by reducing branding, and changing the author of the piece). The second may set off alarm bells in being inauthentic and manipulative of the audience’s trust. I would argue that you might do the same when you commission or invite a guest speaker or writer to create something that embodies the truth of what you wish to communicate. I’d also say that lower budgets compromise this by relying on a few talented creatives in an agency to carry out the same work – that is up for consideration.

Either way, I believe that targeted communication can also be personal and unbranded.
An example of this are blogs setup by people in a company where they voice their own insights and opinions that sometimes may be at odds with the company – as Dan Wieden said – ‘hiring people with their own voice and unique perspective’. Microsoft allowed one such controversial employee to keep his blog and his job, and today in a changing world of transparency its become quite common place.

You might then argue that a blog, though personal in tone and usually smaller in scale, is also just another broadcast form and un-targeted. I’d argue that if the blog’s author interacts with the readers through comments and quote referrals, then he is doing a fine job of keeping it personal through action and engaging a more down to earth relationship with his audience. Secondly blogs become a lot more targeted when they embody a strong theme or topic that connects with a specific audience segment – and hopefully that audience is as passionate and enthusiastic. Now thats personal and targeted and worth talking about.

My two cents. I think personal, unbranded and targeted can still work.
What do you think?